Mechanical starter for internal combustion engines



June 18, 1940- w. c. coNovER 2,204,750

MECHANICAL STARTER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION E NGINES Filed Dec. 1 9, 1939A 586/52 alum INVENTOR WH/QFE/v C. Cavo/.ee

Patented JuneA 18,

MECHANICAL STARTER A FOR INTERNAL .COMBUSTION ENGINES Warren Conover,Waukegan,

Ill., assigner to Outboard, Marine & Manufacturing Company,

Waukegan,

Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application December 19, 1938, SerialNo. 246,583

13 Claims.

This invention relates in general to mechanical starters forinternal'combustion engines, and

more particular to those engines 'of the marine' outboard type. v

One of my principal objects is to provide improvements in a safetydevice to protect the starting mechanism from damage, as well as theoperator from injury, due to a kick-back or in back-firing during thestarting operation.

More particularly stated it is my object to pro*- vide an improvedratchet means between the starting mechanism and the motor that is bothdependable in operation and relatively cheap to construct, and caneasily be attached to any coriventional type outboard motor.

It is my further object to provide a ratchet means between the starterand the motor, whereby, during the starting operation the same areengaged, and means whereby during the operation of the motor,centrifugal force acts to disengage the motor from the starter, and are-engagement is prohibited until the motor comes to rest.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an improvedstarting cord handle, a methody of attaching same, and an efcientanchoring member for attaching the starting cord lto the cord pulley towhich the cord is easily applicable to facilitate replacement.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view in partial taken along line I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of engaging mechanism of the device taken alongline 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing the pawls in disengaged position.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the engaging mechanism, also taken alongline3-3 of Fig. 2, showing the pawls in engaged position.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a cup-shaped engagement plate.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the handle with cover removed.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary cross section of an anchoring member by means ofwhich the inner end of the cord is anchored.

Fig. 8 is a cross section of the cord.

Like parts are designated by the same reference characters throughoutthe several views.

Fig. 2 shows the upper portion of a conventional outboard motor with ilywheel I3, drive shaft I4, and frame or housing I5 to which my startercross section the device is fastened by means of screws I6. The exteriorof the device consists of a lower annular casing I1 and an-upper casingI8 which is rotatively mounted to casing I1, an integral annular rib I9of casing I8 beingl recessed in an annular groove 20 of casing I1 andsecured therein by an annular band 22 which is secured to casing'l1 byscrews 23. A ball detent25 is recessed in socket 24 of casing `I8 and isheld in pressure engagement midway between the casings I1 and I8 byspring 26, under confinement in bore 21. Rotative movement between thecasings I1 and I8 is ordinarily prohibited by detent 25, but underconditions of undue stress between the members, as for example in a caseof backi-ring of the motor, detent 25 will bedepressed into bore 21 andcasing I8 Will be free torotate to save the parts from injury.

Within the casing is a rotatively mounted driving unit 33' provided witha rewinding spring, and a driven unit 62'. 'Ihe driving unit 33' isprovided with a pulley to accommodate a starting cord I2 and a dependingcup-shaped element 38 with peripheral teeth and adjacent peripheralchannels. Driven unit 62 is secured to and rotatable with the motorcrank shaft and carries oscillatable pawls for engagement with theratchet teeth of unit 33.

Construction of the unit is as follows.

'Unit 33 is rotatably mounted from casing I8 on shouldered stud 34 andis comprised of a hub 33, to which is riveted a circular plate 39, and adepending cup-shaped plate 38 with notched periphery. Plate 39 isprovided with an integral annular rib 39', to which is secured annularplate 46 to provide the pulley. Plates 39 and 4U are preferablymarginally divergent to guide the starting cord I2 into the pulleygroove.

Unit 62 is made interchangeable with, and replaces the conventionalstarter pulley. Casting 62, upon which the ratchet pawl mechanism ismounted is in itself a pulley and may be so used for emergency startingupon removal of the casings IB and I1. Said pulley casting is secured tocrankshaft I4 by nut 64 and to flywheel I3 by screws 66. Pins 13 extendthrough relatively rigid sections 61 of pulley 62 and are secured bynuts 68. Pawls 12 are oscillatably mounted thereon and are securedadjacent shoulder 65 by split washers 14 disposed in annular pingrooves.

Pawls 12 are provided with upwardly projecting pins 61 with adjacentwashers 16, said pins being loosely disposed in sockets 11 in annularring 69. Ring 69 performs the function of connecting said pawls 12 sothat during the operation of the device the pawls operate evenly andsimultaneously. Because each pin travels on an arcuate path it isnecessary to provide sockets 11 of slightly larger diameter than pins 61to permit some relative movement.

When the motor is at rest the pawls assume the position shown in Fig, 4with their long arms resting against nut 64, due to the springs 15,which are interposed between pins 13 and 61 biasing the pawls to rotatethem in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4. The short arms ofpawls 'I2 extend into the peripheral notches of element 38, thusproviding an engagement between the starter mechanism and the motorduring the clockwise rotation of the starting unit 33 as viewed in Figs.3 and 4.

Coil spring 30 is disposed about hub 33 and has its inner end fastenedto said hub by pin 32 and its outer end fastened to casing I8 by pin 3|,and is still under some tension when cord I2 is in its normal wound upposition.

Cord I2 is comprised of a stranded bronze core 51, Fig. 8, and a braidedcotton cover 56, and is anchored by means of anchoring member 5I toplate 39, said member being hooked to plate 39 through an openingtherein near the inner wall of the pulley groove. Member 5I is providedwith a bore, 53, a smaller bore, 54, and a notch, 52. The braidedcovering, 56, is cut away to expose a portion of the stranded bronzecore, 51, which is drawn through bore 54 and soldered in said notch. Theshank of the member is flattened to provide pressure contact between thecord covering the bore 53.

The free end of cord I2 passes through a substantially tangentialopening I9', Fig. l, in casing I8 and is provided with a handle I i, theshaft of which is provided with a center bore leading to a recess 42, inan integral grip, where said cord terminus is disposed in a'flgure eightposition and securely held in placer by plate I0, fastened by screwsI0', said screws extending through the inner loops of the figure eightto prevent slippage of the cord.

The operationof the device is as follows:

An outward pull of handle II unwinds cord I2, winds up recoil spring 30,and rotates central unit 33' in a clockwise or engine starting directionas viewed in Fig. 1. Teeth 3 during this operation are engaged withpawls 12, hence a like rotation is imparted to the motor through unitG2', and the motor is started in this manner. With the starting of themotor, the short arms of pawls 12 will trail over teeth 9 untilcentrifugal forcer due to motor rotation becomes greater than thetension exerted on the pawls by springs 15, at which point the pawls areoscillated outwardly about pins 13 to contact lugs 8 I, in whichposition they rest until the motor is stopped, or the speed thereofbecomes retarded to a point at which the said spring tension overcomesthe outward thrust of centrifugal force and moves the pawls towardpositions for re-engagement with teeth 9.

When the cord handle is released, spring 30 unwinds, with resultantrotation of central unit 33 in a counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 4,thereby winding up the cord until handle Il is disposed in the casingopening I9'. A shank of handle II isprovided with a terminus 64' of.substantially frusto-conical shape, said terminus being Somewhatelliptical rather than circular in cross-section, as viewed in Fig. 8,socket I9 of casing I8 being complementary thereto whereby to holdhandley II non-rotatably in a positionto facilitate its grasp by theoperator.

I claim 1. I'he combination with an engine having a starting mechanism,said starting mechanism having a casing member tlxed to the engine, asecond casing member rotatably mounted upon said xed member and carryinga centrally and rotatably mounted engagement device, of a 'bali detent,releasably connecting said casing members to prohibit relative movementtherebetween during ordinary stresses accompanying the startingoperation and to allow rotation of the mounted casing member in respectto the fixed casing member under conditions of extraordinary stresstherebetween.

2. AIn an engine starting mechanism, the combination with a fixed casingmember and a rotatably mounted casing member, of a rotatably mountedengine starter including a pulley member rotatably mounted on saidrotatable casing member, said pulley member comprising a hub, to whichis secured a circular plate provided with an annular rib, an annularplatesecured to said rib in pulley groove forming relation to the plate,and a cup-shaped clutch member having depending peripheral teethcentrally secured to said circular plate and to said hub, said pulleyand clutch members being removable with the rotatable casing member as aunit.

3. In an engine starting mechanism, the combination with a startercasing comprising a fixed member and a member rotatably mounted thereon,said rotatable casing member having the form of an inverted cup providedwith an inner annular rib, forming a channel in which is disposed aspirally coiled rewinding spring, a ratchet member, mounted for rotationwithin said cupshaped casing member and having secured thereto one endof said spring, the opposite end of the spring being secured to saidcup-'shaped casing member. l

4. In an outboard motor starter, the combination with a cup-shapeddriving member provided peripherally with teeth, of a driven member atleast partially housed within the driving member and provided with anannular series of pawls each pivoted at an intermediate point upon thedriven member and provided at corresponding ends with lingers engageablewith said teeth, means biasing the respective pawls toward positions forsuch engagement, each of 'said pawls being provided with a centrifugallyoperable weighted end opposite its linger portion,'whereby to retractits finger portion from the path of said teeth when the driven member isin motion, said driven member being provided with stops in annularseries engageableby the weighted ends of the respective pawls to limitthe centriiugally caused movement thereof and to define-the retractedpositions for said pawls out of contact with said teeth.

5. In an outboard motor starter, an engine winding cord handlecomprising a hand grip with integral shank, said grip provided with afigure eight channel, said shank provided with a central bore leadinginto said channel, a plate disposed in the channel opening and securedto said handle, a pair of snubs-provided in said channel opposite thecentral bore, whereby to anchor a cord extending through the shank boreand disposed in figure eight fashion about said snubs said snubs beingadapted to secure said cord by pres- Vsure engagement between thechannelwall and said plate. y 6. In a device of the type described, ananchoring member for starting cords comprising a shank and integral hookwith notched end, said shanky .provided with a center bore reduced atits inner end-and leading to said notch whereby to provide means forsecuring a metal centered cord thereto.

7. A rotatable starter mechanism for an engine comprising thecombination of a starting pulley rotatable with the crank shaft, anoscillatably mounted pawl on the starting wheel. an outer casingincluding a xed member and a releasably mounted rotatable member, anauxiliary starting pulley on the rotatable casing member and providedwith a ratchet tooth adapted to engage said pawl in the operation of thedevice for transmission oi' motion from one pulley to the other.

8. The combination with an engine provided with a flywheel, of an outercasing provided with a non-rotatable mounting on said engine, saidcasing enclosing the ywheel and having two sections, one of which isrotatably mounted on the other, said mounted section being provided witha relatively rotatable starting member mounted therein and operativelyconnected with the fiywheel.-

9. 'Ihe combination with an engine provided with a flywheel, of an outercasing having two' sections, one of which is rotatably mounted on theother to provide support for a rotatable starter member, a startingpulley attached to the engine ywheel and provided with oscillatablymounted pawls, a retaining ring operatively connected with the pawls forcontrolling their relative simultaneous movements in or out of engagingposition and pins mounted upon the pawls and loosely engaged in saidsockets, and a second starting pulley carried by the rotatable casingsection.

10. The combination with an engine having a iiywheel, of a rotatablymounted engine starter carried by the flywheel, an outer casing for saidstarter having two sections, one of which is rotatably mounted on theother, a detent connecting the rotatable section to hold it againstrotation relative to the first section under ordinary conditionsv ofstress, an auxiliary starting member rotatably mounted on the rotatablecasing section and comprising a starter pulley and cord, spring means.carried by said rotatable section and operatively connected with thepulley to rewind said cord, a cup-shaped element with dependingperipheral teeth, operatively connectedl with oscillatably mounted pawlscarried by said rst mentioned starter whereby to provide means forengaging said auxiliary starting member with the starter on theflywheel.

11. In a device of the type described, the combination with an engineilywheel, of a centrifugally operable clutch mechanism comprising aplurality of pawls carried by said ilywheel and adapted to oscillate ina radial plane, a ring operatively connecting the pawls, whereby tooscillate the pawls in unison, a plurality of stop lugs, carried by saidywheel in position to hold the pawls in retracted position duringoperation of the motor, and a starting pulley engageable with said pawlsduring a motor starting operation.

12. The combination with an engine having a starter mechanism, ofk a4casing housing said mechanism and including one casing element securedto the engine and a second casing element rotatably mounted on saidfirst element, said mechanism being supported at least in part by saidsecond casing element, and a d-etent, biased for securing said casingelements against relative rotation under ordinary conditions of motorstarting stress and adapted to allow said second mentioned casingelement to rotate on said first mentioned casing element under stressbetween Said elements exceeding a predetermined degree.

13. In an outboard motor starter applicable to the engine of an outboardmotor over the y wheel thereof, the combination with a rst casingsection of such form as to be adapted to surround the ily wheel andprovided with means for mounting it non-rotatably upon the engine, of asecond casing section constituting a cover for the first over the ilywheel and rotatably mounted on said ilrst mentioned section, saidsections having complementary parts in interlocking engagement forholding the sections together whiley permitting-relative rotationtherebetween, detent means normally restraining said second casingsection against relative rotation upon the first casing section, and astarting mechanism housed within said second casing section andincluding a starter part mounted Y thereon for predetermined range ofrelative rotation respecting said second section, said range of rotation4vbeing suilcient to impart starting motion to an engine ily wheelenclosed by said sections, said detent being adapted to relieve saidsecond section for rotation upon the rst section in the event saidpredetermined range of relative movement of one direction.

WARREN C. CONOVER.

said part is exceeded in 50

